Anti-litter group: Ireland getting cleaner

The Irish Business Against Litter group has claimed that Ireland is becoming a cleaner country.

The group said today that its anti-litter league for 2004 rated 11 of the 30 towns involved as "litter-free", the highest number since the league was first compiled in 2002.

It also said the 30 cities and towns inspected averaged a cleanliness rating of 73 points in the latest survey, up from an average of 55 points in 2002.

However, the survey also found no decrease in the number of areas rated as "seriously littered".

Dublin city, Maynooth, Sligo and Swords were all ranked as "litter blackspots", while Navan, Newbridge, Galway, Dundalk and Limerick were found to have serious litter problems.

Carlow, Cavan, Fermoy, Monaghan and Wexford topped the league.